Life Begins Again
by warblingwriter
Summary: After nearly dying on Scarif, Jyn and Cassian find themselves on a remote space station falling for one another. Told from Jyn's perspective, learn how they escaped near death, what becomes of their increasingly intense relationship, and why the history books are wrong about their fate.
1. Chapter 1

_This is the end._

As the explosion reached toward us Cassian and I grasped for each other, holding on to one another with everything we had. There was nowhere to go, we were going to die. It was happening too fast to be afraid. Instead I felt a numbing relief that Cassian would be with me in the end. His body pressed against mine was comforting and in my last moments I felt safe.

. . .

"Jyn." Somewhere outside of my head someone was speaking, but I couldn't focus.

My mind was in a fog and as I tried to open my eyes I let out a moan as the light seared into my brain. The pain was was sharp and unforgiving.

"Jyn. You're safe." The voice became clearer, it was Cassian. He was still speaking as I slipped back out of consciousness.

When my brain had started to process a little more clearly I could see I was on a ship and that Cassian was laying next to me, propped up on one arm looking at me. My relief at finding him there was short-lived as I became aware of the amount of blood covering his shirt and pants.

Panicked, I began to sit up but was hit with a wave of nausea and fell back. Cassian leaned over me, placing his hand gently on my collar bone to hold me down.

"Easy there. You're safe. You've had a concussion." He said.

"You OK?" I managed to cough out, looking at the blood.

He looked down at his dark-stained clothes and realized why I was distressed.

"Just a scratch." He managed a small smile but it didn't hide the wince of pain that flashed over his face as he spoke. My head was too foggy to really register.

"How are we here?" I asked. What I wanted to ask was, why are we not dead?

A robot piped up from somewhere behind me before Cassian could speak.

"Hello Ms. Erso, let me introduce myself, my name is AME-8.4, you can call me A-ME. I am an advanced medical examiner unit designed to handle emergency war casualties. As Captain Andor said, you have suffered a concussion but should heal fine. I must insist that you take it easy for the next few days. Captain Andor exp …"

"A-ME," Cassian cut the robot off changing the subject, "Were there other ships like this picking up casualties?"

"I do not have access to that information."

Cassian lay himself down onto his back with a grimace. I reached for his hand and held it, not wanting to be away from him after what we had just experienced.

"You and Captain Andor were the last two individuals to be picked up as we were leaving Scarif. Our captain, EP-01 spotted you as we were evacuating. You were very fortunate. The odds of successful recovery were not high enough for a rescue attempt had we picked up any other humans. Unfortunately when we extracted you there was already a large amount of debris which is how you were injured."

"There are no other humans on this ship?" I asked.

"No, the captain did not identify any other alliance members during our sweep of the planet." A-ME responded.

"But no crew?" I continued, confused.

"No, we are an unmanned elite model war extraction unit." A-ME responded matter-of-fact.

From a speaker in the corner of the room came an announcement, "This is your captain, PC-01. We will be arriving at the rendezvous point in 15 minutes."

When we arrived at the space station a large group of medical personnel ran onto the ship. I thought they were coming for me but my heart sank when I realized they were coming for Cassian. They surrounded him and lifted him onto a gurney, his hand slipping from mine. That is when the severity of his injury hit me. There was too much blood.

"Cassian!" I shouted as they began to take him out of the ship away from me. He looked back and attempted the slightest of smiles but then his eyes closed and his face went slack. There was a loud commotion and then they were gone, A-ME along with them.


	2. Chapter 2

After two days of careful monitoring I was released from the hospital room I'd been confined to on the condition that I take it easy and come back if I experience any further symptoms. I also had a standing appointment each week for the next month. I walked right out of my hospital room and straight to Cassian's.

Over the last few days the medical personnel had been keeping me up to date with his progress. His abdomen had been pierced by a large piece of metal debris as we were extracted from Scarif. It had caused a large amount of blood loss but A-ME had been able to stop the bleeding until he arrived for surgery.

As I arrived at his room I found him sleeping on the bed, an attendant stood on the other side of the room looking at a chart.

"Is he going to be OK?" I already knew the answer but needed continual confirmation.

"Yes, it was close. He lost a lot of blood."

"Just a scratch." Cassian whispered.

I let out a loud guffaw in relief. I ran to his bedside and sat beside him sliding my hand over his. He let out a small breath of air wrapping his thumb around the outside of my hand. I wondered if he felt the electricity that I did when our hands met but then pushed away the thought.

"We survived Scarif, do you think a little metal would kill me?" He smiled and then winced.

"Are you in pain?" I asked seriously.

"I'm fine." He tried to convince me. "How is your head?"

"I'm fine." I replied.

"I find that answer vague and unconvincing." He smiled, but then his brow furrowed with the sudden realization that his friend K2 was gone. "Did anyone else survive?" He looked pleadingly.

I lowered my eyes so that I wasn't looking at him, afraid I might cry. I shook my head, unable to speak and then looked back up at him.

His eyes watered and he used his free hand to rub them while stroking my hand comfortingly with his other.

At this moment, a man in uniform walked into the room and gave a small cough for attention.

"Ms, Erso. Captain Andor. I am Sargent Roe Mana, the active leader of Space Station SA12 where you are now. I first want to thank you both for your bravery on Scarif. I am very sorry about the loss of your friends. Our intelligence officials confirmed that the Death Star plans were transmitted to members of the alliance before the planet was destroyed. Unfortunately we have not yet received information as to the current status of the plans. The receiving ship was attacked by enemy forces and several crew members are MIA. We have different accounts as to what happened with the plans but do not believe that the Empire has them."

Jyn and Cassian stared at Roe Mana, both unsure as to their emotions. They were relieved that the plans had made it through transmission but the anxiety about their current whereabouts made it feel like a failed mission. Jyn spoke first.

"Thank you Sargent. Will you please keep us up to date with any new information?"

"Yes, of course. As Scarif has been destroyed, all human and robot entities are presumed dead. That includes the two of you. There is a small group of people on this ship who know who you are. They have the highest level of security here and will keep your identity a secret. They will come for intelligence debriefs over the next few weeks. The robots who picked you up have been reprogrammed to believe you are two soldiers who were stranded on a freighter ship headed to Hoth that had a run in with a meteor which is what caused your injuries. Due to your role in the Death Star plan transmissions we will provide you new identities to ensure no Empire spies catch wind that you are alive and breathing." The Sargent handed a folder to each of us.

I opened the folder to see my new identity: Regan Starli. Cassian showed me his: Kol Enzo.

"I understand this is a lot to take in. Your back stories are included in those folders, please memorize them and begin using your new names immediately."

"You two are both relieved of any active duty for the next 6 months, at which point you can decide whether you would like to take permanent leave. We can make comfortable living arrangements for you should you choose to retire. Thank you again for your excellent service. If you need anything, I am happy to help."

"Sargent," Cassian called before he made it out of the room.

The Sargent turned around.

"Do you have access to the Robotics Intelligence Engineering Platform from this space station?" He asked eagerly.

"Yes." The Sargent replied.

"Can they transmit the last downloaded programming/activity of K-2SO module 11935 into any units on the ship?" He said.

"We don't have any K-2SO units but we can certainly get the activity downloaded into an empty unit. I'll get someone on it. It will probably take several months." He walked out of the room.

A large smile spread across Cassian's face.

"We are dead and you are smiling" I exclaim.

"We are alive. And K2 will be too."

"Oh joy!" I feign sarcasm but know he can see I am relieved.

"He automatically backs up his system before leaving base so we should have all memory files up until we left for Scarif. His personality may be a little off but we should be able to restore him."

"Can we program a more pleasant personality?" I quip.

"Where is the fun in that?" Cassian responds.

K2 drove me crazy but he had been growing on me. He had also sacrificed himself for the greater good and made Cassian happy. Without realizing it I had cupped my hands around Cassian's face and kissed him in excitement about the possibility of getting K2 back. Suddenly embarrassed and worried that I would make the only friendship and connection that I had awkward, I stood up.

Cassian didn't move, he just watched me. There was something in his eyes I couldn't read and I was acutely aware that I just crossed an invisible boundary. I was so mad at myself.

"I'm going to go. You should rest." I insist.

"Jyn." His eyes bore into mine. "It was the perfect death."

"Yes." I nodded, knowing what he meant. There would have been no better way to go than in each other's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

A month had passed since our arrival at SA12. I had visited Cassian every day (or Kol as I now called him). We talked, played games, had intelligence briefings with Sargent Mana and a few other intelligence agents who had quickly become friends. I invited many of them to eat dinner with us in the hospital room each night. I refused to leave Cassian's side. After that first day with him in the hospital I decided that regardless of my growing feelings for him I would need to keep them to myself. Even if he had feelings for me, we were each other's best friends and we were each other's only family. I did not want to ruin our connection over sexual attraction. I made sure to keep any physical interaction as brief as possible, but I couldn't deny the intensity whenever we touched and I noticed he often touched me. He would brush my hand or grab my arm when I sat with him some days.

Today was a special day, Cassian was going to be released from the hospital.

I ran down to his hospital room but his bed was empty. A brief moment of panic quickly subsided when his doctor walked by and told me he'd been released early. I was suddenly disappointed that he hadn't come right to see me but pushed the feeling down. I went to the mess hall to see if he'd gone there but found nothing. Then I went to his room and knocked but it was silent. Resigned, I went to my room. As I turned the hallway I found Cassian sitting in front of my door looking stressed. As soon as he saw me he called to me, "J-!" He cut off correcting himself, "Regan! Where have you been?"

"Looking for you!" I smiled and gave him a big hug when I reached him. We didn't let go of each other for a few moments. Instead, we held each other tight and I remembered clutching him on the beach in Scarif before our impending death. _It was the perfect death_. His words echoed in my mind.

We slowly parted, our hands sliding off one another and remained close. Our eyes met. I took a step back, afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself.

"We must have just missed each other at the hospital. I got you something but when I went back to the hospital room to meet you you were gone." He said.

Had he been waiting here for the few hours I'd been looking for him? I smiled thinking he must have.

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why did you get me something?" He picked up a box that had been lying on the floor and handed it to me.

"What kind of question is that. Open it!" He was excited.

I opened the box and laughed. Inside was a blaster, the same model as the one I'd stolen the first flight I took with Cassian.

"I want you to be safe. And I know you like this kind." A smirk stretched across his face.

"Thank you." I said not able to look at him, fighting the urge to throw myself on him.

He moved closer to me and lifted my head with his hand under my chin.

"Jyn." He whispered and his eyes told me everything he was thinking. But I cut him off.

"Don't." I said quietly moving away from him again.

He took a step back distressed. I could see in his face that he was worried he'd misread my feelings. I hated thinking he might question how I felt.

"C . . . Kol. You are all I have. I don't want this attraction to ruin anything."

He moved toward me again, empowered by my admission.

"No." I put my hand up between us and opened my door. "Thank you for my gift, it means so much to me. You mean so much to me, and that is why I will see you at dinner."

I shut the door, leaning against it and looked down at the gun trying to keep my attention away from Cassian who was on the other side of the door.

"I had it inscribed." He said from the other side.

I looked at the bottom of the handle and in cursive it read, " _The perfect death_." My heart broke and then lifted into a million pieces.


	4. Chapter 4

I opened the door just as Cassian was turning the corner out of the hallway. "Kol!" I called in case anyone could hear me. He took one look at me and came back with a purpose.

As soon as he reached me I threw my arms around his neck, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around my waist and our mouths crashed into a soul-crushing kiss. I thought we would inhale each other.

I pulled him into my room and closed the door behind us. He leaned into me against the door and held me tight. I grabbed for his belt while continuing to breathe him in with my mouth. We stopped for just enough time to pull each other's clothes off. I pushed Cassian back onto my bed and scrambled on top of him. I lowered myself onto him and we both let out a sigh of release, the sexual tension finally being broken and fulfilled.

"It would have been enough." I whispered.

Cassian's eyes softened from his initial lustful gaze and he lowered me onto my back now on top of me and made love to me with a tender passion I'd never experienced.

"I know." He whispered in agreement.

. . .

After, while laying in bed together, Cassian turned to me and gently pulled my hair back away from my face, looking into my eyes.

"Welcome home." I whispered.

He smiled, kissing me and we made love again.


	5. Chapter 5

. . .

I slowly opened my door knowing Cassian would still be in bed because it was so early in the morning.

"You're up early. Come to bed." Cassian called half asleep.

"I have a surprise for you," I said sitting next to him on the bed and dragging him up to sit. "Put some clothes on."

"How about you take your clothes off." He propositioned, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me on the neck and shoulder.

"Gross." A voice called from out in the hallway.

Cassian's eyes lit up. "No way." He said quietly looking at me with disbelief. He jumped up and put pants on while heading for the door. He rounded it to nearly run into the torso of a large assassin robot unit standing in front of him.

"Are you sure you don't have better things to do than reuniting with your oldest companion?" K2 said annoyed.

Cassian patted the robot in excitement with both hands. "You certainly got an upgrade old friend!" He exclaimed.

"I happen to think my old shell was just fine. But you look good too" He responded.

"I had the engineers expedite the process, told them it was very important!" I said.

Cassian looked at me and his old companion and laughed with sheer joy.

"I love you." Cassian said as he swept me up in his arms spinning me around and planting a big kiss on my lips.

"Oh come on!" K2 yelled as he waved both arms in the air exasperated by the display of affection.

 _And that is how our life as Regan and Kol began._


End file.
